Some things require my signature. I’m not involved in every circumstance. There is no way for me to oversee every detail. But when the report is finished, it’s not an employee’s signature at the bottom of the page. It’s mine. As the leader of an organization, there is nothing that falls outside my purview. Everything matters and ultimately I’m responsible for everything. However, there is no way I can do it all. I must trust others, empower them to do a job, and trust the job they do.
Yet when it is time to show the numbers or sign the contract, it’s not their signature at the bottom of the page. They’ve done the work, but ultimately I’m the one responsible so I’m the one who has to sign my name to verify the accuracy of the information being given. If something goes wrong, I can’t pretend it’s someone else’s fault. I can’t claim that I delegated it to someone else. There are no excuses, I must own it. (See: A Simple Way to Better Your Day)
So it is with today. I must own it.
Today is a gift. We’ve done nothing to deserve it. We haven’t negotiated its details or demanded our rights to it. We haven’t earned today’s sunrise. It’s a gift.
With that gift comes responsibilities. We are charged to use this day to the best of our abilities. Perfection isn’t possible. Failure is certain to occur. But every day we are expected to do the best we can to make the most of what has been given to us.
And when the day is done, we will give an account for it. Whether we realize it or not, we are signing our names to every day. And so we should live each day so that we would have no hesitation taking full responsibility for how we have spent it.
The First Step
This begins by recognizing and admitting our own inability. No one can pridefully take credit for every aspect of their lives. We all fail and struggle. For me to sign my name to my day requires that I first admit I’m an imperfect, fragile, human-being in desperate need of God’s grace and forgiveness.
Knowing that no day will be perfect demands that I admit my need, confess my sins, and do everything in my power to make right those things that I’ve done wrong. I can never sign my name to a perfect day, but I can regularly take responsibility for how I have failed and sought to rectify the things that I have done wrong.
Then…
Having begun with a deep recognition of what we are not (perfect), we then approach our day with humility and gratitude doing our best to remember that every day is a gift. We see life as a privilege in which we get to use our God-given skills in order to assist others. We find the privilege in every circumstance.
I can sign my name to a day in which I:
- Saw beauty
- Served others
- Felt appreciation
- Laughed
- Loved
- Learned
What I would not be able to honestly own before God or others is a day that I:
- Took for granted
- Wasted
- Fixated on the negative
- Used others
- Made solely about me
Yet on many occasions that is exactly what I do.
The Difference
For me, the difference between a day I can truly own and one I would be embarrassed to be associated with is very simple. I value the days that I recognize as a gift. (See: Five Proverbs to Start Your Day)
Too often we overlook the significance of each day. We arrogantly believe tomorrow will come just like today which diminishes the importance of this day. A time will come in which the significance of another morning won’t be lost on us. When the diagnosis comes or a loved one is lost or we face the threat of not seeing tomorrow, we will understand the value of another day. Until then, we run the risk of living day after day without seeing the privileges we have been given.
When we fail to recognize the gift of today, we are quick to devalue every hour. This mindset allows weeks and months to pass without us feeling any sense of awe or appreciation. Yet when we stop and consider our own unworthiness of this life, we have a different attitude.
Today is a gift. Live in such a way that at the end of the day, you can humbly sign your name to it.
